Philip Wessels
Profile Verified by The Marque
Last Updated: 22 Sep 2026
Co-Founder and CEO
Johannesburg, ZA
Profile Verified by The Marque
Last Updated: 22 Sep 2026
THE MARQUE
In Their Own Right
Biography
Philip Wessels is a telecommunications executive and entrepreneur, currently serving as Chief Executive Officer of both Open Fibre and NTRL.
At Open Fibre, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Philip leads the development and expansion of digital infrastructure platforms for multi-tenant commercial real estate. Under his leadership over the past six years, the company has grown into a trusted fibre partner for landlords, mobile operators, and service providers.
Philip is also the co-founder and CEO of NTRL (pronounced “Neutral”), South Africa’s first neutral host network, established to provide shared digital infrastructure solutions to the country’s mobile network operators. NTRL enables carrier-grade indoor coverage through innovative, third-party infrastructure – bringing a scalable, operator-agnostic model to mobile connectivity in high-density venues.
Prior to these roles, Philip was Chief Operating Officer at South African mobile operator Rain, where he played a key role in building its wholesale business and contributing to the launch of Africa’s first standalone 5G network.
Earlier in his career, following seven years in the UK, Philip transitioned from finance into telecoms by joining Hymax SA, an SME-focused ISP, as Investor and Executive. Hymax was later acquired by the EOH Group.
Before entering the telecoms space, Philip built a strong foundation in global financial markets, working in London at Deutsche Bank, where he managed key hedge fund relationships within Global Prime Finance, as well as at Barclays Investment Bank and Merrill Lynch.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Economics and Management Science from Stellenbosch University.
The Record
Background
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2019 — Present
Chief Executive Officer
Open Fibre
Open Fibre enables clients and businesses to access the latest technology through their infrastructure platform.
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2020 — Present
Co-Founder and CEO
NTRL
NTRL (pronounced Neutral) is a digital infrastructure provider to mobile network operators in South Africa.
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2017 — 2018
Chief Operating Officer - B2B
Rain
Rain is a mobile telecommunications business in South Africa providing internet and mobile network services and the first commercial standalone 5G network in Africa.
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2008 — 2013
Global Prime Finance Client Manager
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a German investment bank and global financial services business predominantly in Europe, the Americas & Asia. Philip managed some of their largest Hedge Fund clients within the Global Prime Finance portfolio.
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2013 — 2017
Shareholder and Executive
Hymax
Hymax is a South African internet service provider offering a range of ICT services to businesses. In 2015, Hymax joined the EOH Group of companies.
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2007 — 2008
Institutional Equities
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is a global provider of wealth management, securities trading and sales, corporate finance and investment services.
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2006 — 2007
Global Commodities Analyst
Barclays Corporate and Investment Bank
Barclays Corporate and Investment Bank offers finance, advisory and risk-management services alongside investment banking.
In The News
Newsfeed
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1 May 2025 · Asset Magazine
Smart landlords start with smarter infrastructure
Read more
Formative Years
Education
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Stellenbosch University
BCom, Economics and Management Science
Areas Of Focus